PEACH was my instantaneous reaction. And this peach was certainly not the eating kind. It was a peach of a delivery that knocked out AB De Villiers. It was like a heat seeking missile which sent De Villiers stumps for a walk. The bowler in question Sudeep Tyagi. I was impressed by the tall Chennai Super Kings fast bowler. The tall gangling tyro looked every inch the part. It set me thinking, Where are all these bowlers coming from? Last week I had dealt with how the bowlers seemed to be coming through while there seemed an acute paucity of quality batsmen in India. Even as Tyagi bowled this corker, another new face, unheralded and unknown – Shadab Jakati, a left arm spinner struck with yet another peach. In a classical left armer’s dismissal – ball turning from leg to hit the off stump – had me thinking – hey, wait a minute, where are these guys coming from? Both Tyagi and Jakati are playing for Chennai Super Kings.
Last year, in Indian conditions on flat wickets several youngsters made a name for themselves – Manav Gony, Ashok Dinda, Ravindra Jadeja, Yusuf Pathan, Swapnil Asnodkar, Abhishek Nayar, Amit Mishra, VRV Singh (who had played for India earlier), Yo Mahesh and many more. Season 2, slow to start, but now burning brightly has given young Indian talent an amazing platform to showcase their talent on bouncy wickets in alien conditions. It is not just the Tyagis or the Vikramjit Maliks who will benefit from this experience, but a whole host of batters who had earned the sobriquet of flat wicket bullies at home who can now hone their skills on much truer wickets.
This is a God send for the BCCI. The shifting of IPL may well prove to be a blessing in disguise for it allows young Indian players to test their skills against the best players in the business. Not just that. Think of a Tyagi or Jakati who is playing alongside MS Dhoni, Albie Morkel, Mathew Hayden or a Malik playing with Kumar Sangakarra, Mahela Jayawardene and Yuvraj Singh. I think it is a fascinating concept allowing players to be taken under someone’s wings and testing his mettle in an environment which till recently was something Indians used to dread. I am convinced that Indian cricket will be the better for this experience. The next time India tours South Africa, it is sure to do better in both Tests and one day cricket. I remember my friend Prakash Padukone who realised quickly that if he was to be a world beater then he would have to train abroad. Turning a licensed player, he trained assiduously for eight hours a day beginning December 1980 in Copenhagen.
Padukone was the dragon slayer, he stopped the resurgent Chinese in their tracks. Not only did he have the measure of Indonesians like Liem Swie King and Danes like Morten Frost Hansen, he was one of the most feared opponents in badminton in his time. A true world beater, his net play bordered on the sublime. To stay at the top of his game and prowess, Padukone trained in Denmark, following a killing regiment which made him one of the fittest and most dangerous shuttlers in the world. Prakash had seen the legendary Rudy Hartono play in Jabalpur in 1971, He was amazed to see the agile Indonesian do 10,000 skips and then get on to the court and display his whiplash smash with regularity. In 1980 Prakash met Hartono again in the Swedish Open and vanquished him. But Hartono at Jabalpur changed his mindset forever. Overnight he became an aggressive player. Vimal Kumar followed him some years later, but he couldn’t achieve what Prakash did. I guess Prakash’s single mindedness and dedication to his cause was something extraordinary. Many Indian sportsmen and women have taken the lead from Prakash since.
The same way IPL season 2 will see new stars emerge on the Indian cricket firmament. This new breed of cricketers is tougher, more resilient and has a touch of bravado and derring do attached to it. Look at Tyagi, the UP seamer burst upon the scene with a 10 wicket haul on debut, finishing with 41 wickets in his first season. It is to UP skipper Mohd Kaif’s credit that he spotted the lively seamer in the nets. Last year he was picked by CSK, but a stress fracture put paid to his chances. Playing for India A in the home series against Australia A and New Zealand A, he came back into the reckoning. In his first game in the IPL against Rajasthan Royals, he bowled only 2 overs, but was mingy giving away 8 runs. It is the next match against Delhi Daredevils which saw him emerge from the shadows of obscurity with a bang. The wicket of De Villiers came after he had Gautam Gambhir stunningly caught by Suresh Raina at short point. Tyagi finished 2-18 off 3, showing that he could handle the big stage.
Jakati was an even bigger revelation. Dilshan Tillekratne who is in the form of his life and was coming into this game after spanking Fidel Edwards in the previous match was bowled by an absolute beauty. Jakati followed up by getting David Warner, Dinesh Karthik and Pradeep Sangwan out to end up as the man of the match. The 29-year-old is someone who nobody knows of. He comes from Vasco Da Gama in Goa of all places. Jakati was a nobody till he out thought and out bowled these batsmen using subtle changes in flight as he lured them to the gangplank of doom. Maybe it is because, Goa doesn’t play the Ranji elite group. It is interesting to note here that both Tyagi and Jakati may be benefiting from CSK bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad’s advice. Prasad has done some serious work with Indian bowlers like Zaheer, Ishant, Munaf, RP Singh and now he is putting these youngsters through their paces.
Vikramjit Singh turns out for Kings XI Punjab, A no frills trier, a little quicker than Praveen Kumar. Actually a terrier who doesn’t let up, worth his weight in gold in a T20. He plays for Himachal Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy. In the IPL, many would have missed him in a bowling line up featuring Yusuf Abdulla, Irfan Pathan, Piyush Chawla and Ramesh Powar. But he bowls his four overs, gives away a little and fields like tiger in the deep.
Now all these guys need to be given a leg up by the board. With chief of selectors Krish Srikkanth in South Africa, though why he is being allowed to roam around the countryside as CSK brand ambassador is beyond me, now needs to ensure that some of these boys get an opportunity for the India A side. We shouldn’t allow this new talent pool to vaporise. India under 19 captain Virat Kohli made a name for himself in the Emerging Players tourney in Australia and since then hasn’t looked back. He is definitely a player for the future. He plays straight and can walk into any side on the strength of his outstanding fielding alone. Kamran Khan of the Rajasthan Royals is another find, but a suspect action has waylaid his plans for the time being. But with the technical committee suggesting rehab for him, I am sure he too will be able to find his feet soon enough.
The bowling gene pool is growing, but it is the board’s responsibility to keep these players in the game and the highest level at that. We cannot have a situation where a talented bowler disappears because of lack of support from the cricket board. Yes, the larder is overflowing, but let us keep an eye out for this lovely crop.
